Dark eyes stared blankly into space. Fortunately, Lucas was not as foolish as Serena had worried. He just seemed to need some time to process the long years all at once.

“It was my selfishness.”

Rarely did his voice ring out so bitterly. As she had said, his words and actions over the past years were both the result and the reality.

“Yes.”

“Even if I say I never forgot you for a single day?”

“That was Your Highness’s heart, and no one else knew about it.”

No matter how much he had drawn Serena, no matter how much he wanted to become strong for her more than anyone else, in the end, he was a man who had neglected his fiancée for 6 years.

“I believe you understand that our engagement has lost its meaning.”

Serena bowed her head lightly in greeting. As if she had nothing more to say to him.

“Then I shall take my leave now. I will immediately stamp the document stating the termination of the engagement and send it to the chamberlain…”

At that moment, Lucas’s reverie was broken, and his black eyes turned towards Serena.

“Wait.”

He interrupted Serena’s words, abruptly stood up from his seat, and walked over to stand in front of her.

“You said you’ll stamp the document?”

“Yes.”

“Which means the document to be stamped was already prepared beforehand?”

Oops, due to always thinking about stamping and feeling relieved, she let her guard down and said something unnecessary.

“When did you prepare all those documents? When did you research the books you recited earlier?”

Blue eyes trembled slightly. This time, Lucas didn’t miss that tremor.

“Serena, you said you stayed in the capital for half a year after the engagement ceremony, right?”

He took a step closer.

“Yes. After that, I quietly lived in self-restraint and prayed for Your Highness’s well-being in the Astel territory.”

Serena stepped back in turn.

“Huh.”

Seeing Serena speak so blatantly, he couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

“Even if I give you the benefit of the doubt, the books you recited earlier can only be found in the libraries of the capital and the imperial palace. Especially those compiled by previous emperors.”

“That’s…”

“They’re my ancestors, so wouldn’t I know better than you?”

Lucas’s lips twisted.

“It would be clear if we look at the traces of you frequenting the library for a few months right after the engagement ceremony, wouldn’t it?”

Their gazes clashed intensely before Serena turned her head and moved away from her spot. Lucas leisurely pursued her.

“Reading is my hobby, so I often went to the library.”

Serena spoke as calmly as possible.

“I also bought and read many books in Astel. That was, at that time…”

“No. Didn’t I just say? It’s about my ancestors.”

Lucas looked at Serena with triumphant eyes, as if he had finally found a point of counterattack.

“I’m not sure about the Vatican’s books, but it’s customary to keep books compiled in the name of previous emperors only in the imperial library.”

Oh no.

Lucas hadn’t just grown in height and build. He had completely outgrown the level of childish arguments and had become annoyingly intelligent.

“If you saw them in the imperial library, it means you were already thinking of breaking off the engagement right after it happened, and if you obtained and read them in Astel… Hmm, I should investigate and severely punish whoever sold those books.”

Either way, it was disadvantageous for Serena.

“It seems the books were so excellent that they remained vivid in my memory even after I left the capital.”

However, she was still confident that her shamelessness was second to none.

“Is that how you’re going to play it?”

Serena carefully observed Lucas’s expression, but there was no sign of great emotional turmoil.

“I have a good memory too. I vividly remember that your temperament was quite extraordinary.”

The smile Lucas held back looked extremely annoying.

“I still clearly remember the violent words you said to me at the engagement ceremony.”

“I was only responding to Your Highness’s words.”

“You’re probably the only woman capable of that.”

Contrary to expectations, instead of getting angry or arguing logic, Lucas kept wearing a strange smile while staring at Serena’s face.

“Perhaps that’s why I couldn’t forget you for a single day.”

Unfortunately, Serena wasn’t the only shameless one. Lucas was spouting words that a troubadour might say with a completely nonchalant expression.

“You were very special to me.”

If Serena had been just an ordinary noble lady, Lucas wouldn’t have harbored such stubbornness.

Like most adolescent boys, his tendency to bicker and glare at her unnecessarily was based on his fondness for Serena.

“I didn’t know it then, but you were the reason for my wanderings.”

But Serena had no way of knowing such feelings, and that strange look in his eyes only added to her awkwardness.

“I wanted to become the strongest man in this continent and meet you.”

Perhaps because it was the confession he had dreamed of every night, the words came naturally to Lucas. But Serena didn’t know about the nights he had spent.

“Yes, I’ll admit it.”

Sigh, Serena exhaled and looked at Lucas. No matter how clever Serena was, she couldn’t understand emotions she had never experienced.

Moreover, their first meeting had been so memorable that she never thought he had harbored romantic feelings.

“Your Highness is probably the strongest man in this continent.”

Serena spoke elegantly and calmly. If only her attitude didn’t seem like she was carelessly giving candy to a crying child, Lucas might have been moved.

“You are excellent, very much so.”

This was sincere, but the tone was so different from what Lucas had expected.

“However, there is no connection between Your Highness and me.”

Again, Serena delivered cold words. It was a situation Lucas had never considered.

“I want to undo our engagement as if it never happened. Very desperately so.”

Grind, Lucas clenched his molars.

“Do you dislike me that much? Or have you come to love someone else?”

“I swear, nothing of the sort has happened.”

Lucas’s anger subsided a little at Serena’s firm answer.

“I am the crown prince of the empire. Moreover, as you acknowledged, I’ve become stronger than anyone. What am I lacking as a marriage partner?”

Their conversation kept going off track due to their vastly different ways of thinking. How could Serena know that Lucas had arbitrarily harbored affection and admiration for her and trained himself?

“Your Highness the Crown Prince is excellent in every aspect.”

His selfish side that only knew himself, and his arrogance in thinking everything would go his way, could become advantages when he becomes emperor later.

After all, he had the will to abandon the comfortable life that came with his noble status and repeatedly train himself to become this strong.

“Then why aren’t you happy that I’ve come, and only say there’s no connection between us?”

“It’s a separate issue. Just like the past 6 years that Your Highness and I spent differently.”

“Are you resenting my thoughtlessness?”

Lucas knew it was a foolish question. But the words escaped his lips on their own.

“I waited until I could show you a respectable appearance. I wanted to stand before you with a proud appearance. Did that only leave resentment in you?”

“Of course not.”

He knew it. From the beginning, there was no resentment in Serena’s eyes as she looked at him. The blue eyes looking at him were not entirely negative. Just surprise and bewilderment.

“Well, I really disliked Your Highness at the engagement ceremony, but that was mutual, wasn’t it?”

Grin, Serena smiled so prettily.

How nice it would have been if she had smiled like that when Lucas said he had come to get her.

“It’s all in the past, so it’s fine.”

“In the past, you say.”

All of Lucas’s words were sincere. Even when he said he hadn’t forgotten Serena for a single day. But Serena called all those days just things of the past.

“It’s not because I resent Your Highness or because Your Highness is lacking in any way.”

Serena didn’t even give Lucas time to dwell on memories.

“I don’t want to become the crown princess. The imperial family doesn’t suit me. The same goes for marriage.”

The eyes, bluer than jewels, sparkled even more than in Lucas’s memory.

“I want to live as myself, not as someone’s woman.”

Lucas blinked slowly. It was something he had never heard in his life.

“I don’t like living while suppressing myself, always conscious of others’ gazes.”

He would never understand, but the time wasted in her past life already hurt.

−You’re neither this nor that.

The oldest memory from her past life was of crying during training. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t become a gymnast.

−Sigh… it’s hopeless. You should do a strength-based event instead.

It was just when she was 11 years old. She could understand being told she wasn’t suitable for gymnastics even as a child, but what hurt was what came after.

−What good is it if you only use strength? How many times do I have to tell you volleyball is a team sport!

The path to becoming a professional in arts and sports in such a small country was too harsh. Some might call it a loser’s excuse, but she had no will to continue doing something that didn’t suit her aptitude.

−Senior, make her do it. I heard she used to be some kind of athlete when she was young.

−That’s right. Wow, I was so surprised when I saw her lift a desk with one hand before.

Such memories were too numerous to count. She thought her heart was becoming numb, but it was actually wearing away and disappearing.

That’s probably why she couldn’t remember her name in the end, even though she remembered most of her previous life.

“I also don’t like being evaluated by someone all the time.”

What’s wrong with a woman being big, what’s wrong with being strong, what’s wrong with never being called delicate and innocent all her life.

“So.”

Just because of such things, she had to give up her dreams and be ridiculed. No matter how much she hunched her body and walked, she couldn’t avoid the contemptuous gazes.

“I can’t be an obedient crown princess or an elegant empress.”

As if compensating for her past life full of regrets, the current Serena had opportunities to pursue her dreams and warm people who supported her.

“I’ve already decided. So if you really can’t forgive me, please just kill me instead.”

That’s how much she wanted to protect this life. The sparkling days where she could do something with an excited heart every day.